Cambrecia and the Recession of the Gods
| This is an article on the History of Feyworld | |
| Years: 2012 NC to 2062 NC | |
| Age: The Dark Times | |
| Continent: Duria | |
| Main Article | |
| Cambrecia | |
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| The Zelosian Schism | Cambrecia in the Fourth Age |
In the Spring of 2012 NC, the Crimson Plague reached Neptaris and quickly spread into Cambrecia. Despite the Plague's resistance to magical cures, the extensive priesthoods of the Imperial and the Sacredosi factions were able to provide some care to their populace and the disease was not as rampant in the central and northern areas of Cambrecia as it was elsewhere. The Royalist forces were decimated and Neptaris withdrew its military support to help deal with the Plague in their own city. It is generally believed that the Royalist leader, Drogo Garibald, was prepared to surrender by the end of spring and was en route to Zelosia City to lay down arms on the Summer Solstice.
On the Summer Solstice of 2012 NC, the Recession of the Gods began. Initially, it was believed in Cambrecia that only the priests of Zelos had lost the blessing of their god. Riots by people convinced the Schism had damned them all immediately erupted throughout the nation. By nightfall, Zelosia City was in flames and by the following morning, Potentate Horatius IV lay dead on the steps of the Great Temple of Zelos, having flung himself from its tower. It is said that when Drogo Garibald saw Zelosia City ablaze and received word that its preists no longer received blessings from the God of the State, he turned his entourage around and returned to the city of Tryscon. Trias, the defacto capital of the Sacerdosi, were faring little better than the Imperials as the people revolted against them. Cyril the Scholar kept his head and soon discovered that all priests of the Old Gods had lost their connection to the divine and showed signs of regaining some semblance of control over the angry mobs in Trias, but he was dead of the Crimson Plague within a week.
Without any divine healing, the Crimson Plague soon took Cambrecia by the same stranglehold it had elsewhere. In a panic and now without divine leadership, those who did not die from the Plague either tried to flee or rallied under corrupt charlatans claiming to have visions of the divine. Most towns and cities were struck the hardest by the Plague, with Trias losing three quarters of its population and Zelosia City some seven eights of its population by Autumn. In Royalist territories to the east and south, the leadership remained more or less intact and the people did not panic quite as much as in other regions of Cambrecia... many had already resigned themselves to being Anathema to Zelos, so few were interested in divine guidance already. Drogo Garibald himself was crowned Drogo I, King of Daredonia on the first of Mudens in Tryscon and immediately set about instituting draconian measures to stem the tide of the plague. He canceled all public celebrations, including religious celebrations, and forbade trade of any sort, even between villages. To ensure no one traveled the roads, he founded the Order of the Black Shroud, a band of knights who would grimly travel the roads of Cambrecia, slaying any they found not of their Order, but also forbidden from entering village or town themselves.
By 2013 NC, the wars had effectively ground to a halt. Justinian III, an adviser to Cyril the Scholar, became the leader of the Sacredosi in the north, though he had little authority outside Trias. The Imperials could not gather enough Episcopi to elect a new Potentate, so remained without a Head of State for almost a decade. King Drogo I was successful in stemming the tide of the Crimson Plague in the south and east, but his draconian imprisonment of the populace in their own homes was intensely despised by his people.
None of the three factions had any real ability to conduct war, though there were some skirmishes over the next fifty years. Despite the priesthood having no divine power, the Imperial Zelosians were able to retain power in central Cambrecia throughout the Dark Times by focusing on their traditions and now empty rituals (and, in part, because the people just didn't have the spirit to oppose them). In the north, the Episcopi Zelosians slowly turned over power to secular representatives, in part because of a lack of priests qualified to administer the region. By 2050 NC, the region under Episcopi control was generally known by its traditional, pre-Imperial name of Numentora and was conducting its own affairs as a sovereign nation, though this separation would not be formalized until 2063 NC.
It should be noted that, during these dark times, druids began to arrive in Cambrecia from the Calmerian Marches. Despite being welcomed by the Daredonians and, to a lesser degree, by Nementora, the powerless priests of Zelosia City treated the druids as a threat and forbade their interference and, eventually, even entry into territory they controlled. Unfortunately for the priests, this edict was generally ignored outside of Zelosia City, as the healing magics and wisdom of the druids were seen as a welcome respite to the powerless, corrupt priests of Zelos. Even in Zelosia City, a small number of druids established themselves, hidden from the priesthood's men by the populace.
Most believed that the Old Gods had abandoned the mortal world forever and were fully prepared to take on the beliefs of their Druidic saviors. Then, as abruptly as their gifts were taken away, the Old Gods suddenly returned.
